Nine-year-old Rylan Mori enjoys swimming, fishing and rock climbing at a recent week at sleepaway summer camp in rural Georgia.
But the Duluth child also revels in trying raw honey and holding a baby chick for the first time. Another first for the camper, he’s helping plan a farm-to-table menu featuring heirloom tomatoes, oven-roasted potatoes and grass-fed beef hamburgers complete with homemade pickles.
Rylan, who has muscular dystrophy, is spending a week at Camp Twin Lakes, nestled in the woods of rural Morgan County, about 50 miles east of Atlanta, serving children with a range of serious illnesses and special needs, from cancer and diabetes to kidney disorders, asthma and muscular dystrophy. It's one of a handful in the nation designed exclusively for children with extraordinary medical needs.
And while Camp Twin Lakes, which opened its gates in 1993, is known for ensuring kids enjoy all of the traditional activities — horseback riding, splashing in the pool, singing camp songs — it is also offering a growing range of activities helping kids experience another aspect of summer camp: gardening, farming and cooking fresh, locally grown food.
Beginning in 2012 with a few raised beds, the Camp Twin Lakes farm has grown to over 125 acres of land, which is also home to a herd of cattle. Last year, the farm produced 15,000 pounds of fresh food served at the camp. The farm also produced 8,000 farm-fresh eggs last year.
About 3,500 campers will spend a week at Camp Twin Lakes this summer. With an on-site, state-of-the art medical lodge equipped to administer extensive treatments such as chemotherapy and dialysis, Camp Twin Lakes serves children in Georgia who may not otherwise go to summer camp.
Camp Twin Lakes estimates the cost for each camper is close to $800. Through donations from individuals, corporations and foundations, Camp Twin Lakes covers about 70 percent of the cost, with camp groups — such as Camp Sunshine for children with cancer and Camp Kudzu for children with diabetes — contributing the remaining 30 percent. (The true cost of the camp for each group can be higher based on staffing needs and other costs.) But rates for children are based on ability to pay, and many pay only a nominal fee.
In keeping with its mission, Camp Twin Lakes took special measures to make sure the gardens and farming activities were accessible to all campers: Garden beds are raised 3 to 4 feet high to be wheelchair-accessible. A hanging garden trellis arches over the bed with squash, melons and other vine crops growing on the trellis, and when these items are ripe, campers sitting in chairs or wheelchairs can pick them. The greenhouse is wheelchair-accessible.
At a new outdoor kitchen this summer, youngsters make everything from homemade salsa and pesto to goat milk ice cream. Four years ago, the farm yielded its very first squash. Nowadays, you’ll find plenty of vegetables (and hard-boiled eggs) in the salad bar hail from the farm.
Audrey McMenamy, a grant writer for Camp Twin Lakes, said the farming programs are designed to teach children about gardening and sustainability in fun and meaningful ways. Virtually every camper spends at least an hour on farming activities during their week of summer camp, with several requesting several hours a week on the farm.
According to exit interviews, more than 90 percent of campers said they ate something new at camp — such as a kohlrabi vegetable or green zebra tomato, and they also tried something they had never done before, such as tending to the garden, petting an alpaca or milking a goat.
Nathan Fussell, farm coordinator at Camp Twin Lakes, said his job is twofold: to help oversee all of the production of food produced at the farm while at the same time helping educate youngsters and providing fun, positive experiences farming.
The ultimate goal, Fussell said, is to move toward more and maybe someday all of the food served in the dining hall being grown on site.
Fussell said last year a group of campers worked together to prepare a special farm-to-table feast. Some focused on the farming and gathering all of the fruits and vegetables. Others focused on menu planning, cooking the meal and setting the tables. The final menu included puff pastries filled with a mix of ricotta cheese and farm-fresh garlic and herbs; a coffee-encrusted beef brisket, smoked and sliced thin; and a couscous with fresh herbs and sun-dried tomatoes. For dessert, the campers made mini-pumpkin pies.
As for Rylan, he said he enjoyed helping take care of the animals and trying fresh vegetables. In fact, he ranked farming No. 2 on his list of favorite activities at camp, only behind rock climbing.
“And,” he added, “this definitely makes me want to garden at home.”
MORE: Camp Twin Lakes the ‘happiest place you could ever imagine’
MORE: Doing Good: Volunteers ‘paint it forward’ for Camp Twin Lakes
About the Author
